Research and development (R&D)

The Research and Development (R&D) strategy of COGERSA has been developed in the context of the Strategic Plan on Waste of Asturias 2014-2024. The objectives of R&D are:

To improve existing processes to be more efficient

To develop waste recovery

To reduce the environmental impact of the activities

To contribute to the development of the R&D objectives of the Strategic Plan on Waste of Asturias

To promote R&D projects focused on waste management in Asturias

To promote collaborations with the University of Oviedo, Research Centres of Asturias and the industry to create synergies and improve the waste management and the environmental protection

The innovation culture of COGERSA has developed successful R&D projects:

ReCO2veryis a strategic project conceived to find an innovative and integrated solution to reduce the emissions of CO2 from waste incineration by recovering CO2 via the cultivation of microalgae to produce biofuels and other forms of energy. It has a budget of 901,111 €, of which 680,155 € will be provided by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness within the framework of the National RDI Programme Aimed at the Society’s Challenges - Collaborative RDI projects 2014. The project will evolve between October, 2014 and December, 2017

End-o-Sludg was a collaborative research project involving 14 European partners drawn from industry, academia and Government establishments. Together, the partners were tasked with identifying and developing innovative system solutions for municipal sludge treatment and management in the context of EU climate change mitigation and energy policies. It was developed between January, 2011 and December, 2013. The budget was 5.5 million € and it was funded by the 7thFP of the European Union.

Sludge4Biomass: the Strategic Plan on Waste of Asturias proposes to increase composting of sewage sludge up to 40,000 t/year. Sludge4Biomass is a collaborative project, involving COGERSA, HUNOSA and the University of Oviedo, to investigate the benefits of using sludge compost in forest energy crops. It aims to increase the demand of sludge compost to boost sludge recovery by composting. The studies started in 2013.

Airmicrof: the project was promoted by COGERSA and developed between October, 2012 and June 2014 in collaboration with the University of Oviedo. It was aimed to improve the current depuration process. The budget reached 86,733 €, which were partially funded by the Economic Development Institute of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA) under the program INNOVA 2012, which was included in the ERDF Operational Programme for Asturias 2007-2013.

Waste-to-Fuel: the project was aimed to explore various non-hazardous waste to produce Refuse Derived Fuel in COGERSA. It was developed in collaboration with the University of Oviedo between October, 2013 and December, 2014. The budget reached 31,066 €, partially funded by the Foundation for the Promotion of Applied Scientific Research and Technology in Asturias (FICYT) under the Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation of Asturias (PCTI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

BioGaps: COGERSA developed an innovative tool based on satellite-geo-positioning to show intuitively the biogas parameters, allowing improvements in control and planning of landfill degasification. SADIM and IECP were contracted by COGERSA to develop the system. The project was developed between May, 2012 and October, 2013.

ReciGap: this project, to be developed between April, 2014 and December, 2015, is aimed to create an innovative software to show the main indicators of the separate collection of urban waste, providing valuable and intuitive information to the citizens and Public Administrations to improve municipal waste recycling in Asturias. The budget of the project reaches 34,753 €, partially funded by the Economic Development Institute of the Principality of Asturias (IDEPA) under the program INNOVA 2014, which was included in the ERDF Operational Programme for Asturias.